Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown is suing the Trump administration over its plan to convert a vacant warehouse into an immigration detention facility.
The federal lawsuit, filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, alleges the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to establish such a facility in Washington County is unlawful under the Administrative Procedure Act and the National Environmental Policy Act.
Brown argued the federal government needed to conduct an environmental review concerning the land on which the 825,000-square-foot warehouse lies.
In a video statement, the Democratic attorney general explained that the detention facility will be surrounded by waters with endangered fish species protected by the state.
“Two ecologically significant areas identified by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources lie within a half mile of the site,” Brown said. “The existing sewer infrastructure was built for a warehouse, not for 1,500 people. A facility this size would generate nearly four times more wastewater than the site was designed for, risking sewage overflows on the property and backups throughout the community.”
The lawsuit also cited environmental, economic, and public health concerns as the reasons for challenging the facility’s construction.
The plaintiff says the plan is part of the Trump administration’s “broader effort to create a mass immigration detention scheme” across the nation.
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem, DHS, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and acting ICE Director Todd Lyons are listed as defendants.
DHS and ICE purchased the warehouse for $102.4 million last month without public input or state consultation, and without an environmental review. Brown hopes the court will issue a preliminary injunction preventing construction from moving forward. The lawsuit states that ICE is seeking contractors to complete the project by this September, “if not sooner.”
Gov. Wes Moore (D-MD), who has opposed the president on the Potomac River’s sewage spill and numerous other issues, joined Brown in criticizing the Trump administration.
“No administration is above the law. Our people must be heard when the federal government makes decisions that affect their health, their safety, and their communities,” Moore said in a statement accompanying the complaint. “The State of Maryland is filing this lawsuit because DHS must be held to the same legal standard as every other federal agency.”
In a statement to the Washington Examiner, a DHS spokesperson said the lawsuit is less about the environment and more about stopping ICE from detaining illegal immigrants in Maryland.
HOW ICE WILL DRAMATICALLY EXPAND IMMIGRANT DETENTION IN 2026
“Let’s be honest about this. This isn’t about the environment. It’s about trying to stop President Trump from making America safe again. The [Left] didn’t care about the mountains of litter that illegal aliens dropped on ranches and riverbeds during Biden’s border crisis. They’re feigning concern now because they want those same illegal aliens to stay forever and vote here,” the statement read.
“These will not be warehouses — they will be very well-structured detention facilities meeting our regular detention standards,” it continued. “Every day, DHS is conducting law enforcement activities across the country to keep Americans safe. It should not come as news that ICE will be making arrests in states across the U.S. and is actively working to expand detention space.”
